The disc drive housing encloses a spindle motor carrying a disc having a data surface. An actuator assembly includes an actuator arm carrying a head. The housing includes a first surface portion adjacent to the data surface of the disc. The housing also includes a plurality of surface portions that define a recess, which allows the actuator arm to move over the data surface of the disc. The plurality of surface portions include a sloped surface portion sloping away from the data surface and preventing wind generated by the disc rotating about an axis from separating from the sloped surface portion. Alternatively, a disc drive includes a housing that defines a recess. The housing encloses a disc mounted on a spindle motor that rotates the disc about an axis and thereby generates wind within the housing. An upstream surface portion and a downstream surface portion of the housing both face toward a data surface of the disc. A discontinuity, such as a step, between the upstream surface portion and the downstream surface portion causes a wind recirculation region within the recess. The disc drive also includes an actuator arm that carries a head, which the recess allows to move over the data surface of the disc. An actuator limiting device prevents the actuator arm from entering the wind recirculation region.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A disc drive comprising a housing enclosing a spindle motor carrying a disc having a data surface, and an actuator assembly adjacent the disc, the actuator assembly comprising an actuator arm carrying a head, the housing comprising: a first surface portion of the housing adjacent to the data surface of the disc; and a plurality of surface portions of the housing defining a recess, the recess allowing the actuator arm to move over the data surface of the disc, the plurality of surface portions comprising a sloped surface portion sloping away from the data surface and preventing wind generated by the disc rotating about an axis from separating from the sloped surface portion.
2. The disc drive of claim 1 , wherein the first surface portion faces upwardly and is upstream of the actuator arm and wherein the sloped surface portion slopes downwardly from the first surface portion.
3. The disc drive of claim 2 , wherein: the housing further comprises a second upwardly facing surface portion downstream from and adjacent to the recess; and the plurality of surface portions further comprises a second sloped surface portion downstream from the first aforesaid sloped surface portion, the second sloped surface portion sloping away from the data surface and preventing wind generated by the disc rotating about the axis from separating from the sloped surface portion.
4. The disc drive of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of surface portions further comprises an upwardly facing floor surface portion between the first sloped surface portion and the second sloped surface portion.
5. The disc drive of claim 3 , wherein the first upwardly facing surface portion, the second upwardly facing surface portion, and the plurality of surface portions together form an annular surface portion beneath the disc.
6. The disc drive of claim 1 , wherein the first surface portion is substantially parallel to the data surface of the disc, and wherein a slope angle of the sloped surface portion relative to the first surface portion in a circumferential direction about the axis is from about ten degrees to about thirty degrees.
7. The disc drive of claim 6 , wherein the slope angle is about twelve degrees.
8. The disc drive of claim 1 , wherein the first surface portion and the plurality of surface portions are portions of a surface of a base plate of the housing.
9. The disc drive of claim 1 , wherein the first surface portion and the plurality of surface portions are portions of a surface of a cover of the housing.
10. A disc drive comprising: a housing enclosing a disc mounted on a spindle motor, the housing defining a recess and the spindle motor being effective to rotate the disc about an axis and thereby generate wind within the housing; an upstream surface portion of the housing facing toward a data surface of the disc; a downstream surface portion of the housing facing toward the data surface of the disc, the downstream surface portion being downstream from the upstream surface portion; and a discontinuity between the upstream surface portion and the downstream surface portion, the discontinuity causing a wind recirculation region within the recess; an actuator arm carrying a head, the recess allowing the head to move over the data surface of the disc; and an actuator limiting device, the actuator limiting device preventing the actuator arm from pivoting or rotating into the wind recirculation region.
11. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the actuator limiting device maintains a radial distance between the actuator arm and the discontinuity that is at least six times an axial displacement distance between the upstream surface portion and the downstream surface portion.
12. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the discontinuity is a sloped surface between the upstream surface portion and the downstream portion.
13. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the housing comprises a cover and a baseplate, and wherein the upstream surface portion, the downstream surface portion, and the discontinuity are all surface portions of the base plate.
14. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein: the disc is above the upstream surface portion and the downstream surface portion; the downstream surface portion is axially lower than the upstream surface portion; and the actuator arm is downstream from the wind recirculation region.
15. The disc drive of claim 14 , wherein the housing further comprises: a second downstream surface portion downstream from the first aforesaid downstream surface portion, the second downstream surface portion being higher than the first downstream surface portion; and a second discontinuity between the first downstream surface portion and the second downstream surface portion, the second discontinuity causing a second wind recirculation region within the recess; wherein the actuator arm is upstream from the second wind recirculation region.
16. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the actuator limiting device comprises software of the actuator control system.
17. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the actuator limiting device is operably connected to the actuator arm.
18. The disc drive of claim 10 , wherein the actuator limiting device comprises crash stops.
19. A disc drive comprising a housing enclosing a spindle motor and an actuator having an actuator arm supporting a head, the spindle motor operable to rotate a disc about an axis and thereby produce a wind that travels over a first surface portion of the housing, the housing comprising: a recess adjacent the first surface portion, the recess allowing the actuator arm to access the disc, and the recess being defined by a plurality of surface portions; and means for providing a smooth transition between the first surface portion and the plurality of surface portions and for preventing the wind from separating from the plurality of surface portions.
20. The disc drive of claim 19 , wherein the means for providing a smooth transition comprises a sloped surface portion of the plurality of surface portions and wherein a sloped angle between the sloped surface portion and the first surface portion in a circumferential direction about the axis is sufficiently small to prevent the wind from separating from the sloped surface portion.
21. The disc drive of claim 17 , wherein: the housing further comprises a second upwardly facing surface portion downstream from and adjacent to the recess; and the plurality of surface portions further comprises a second sloped surface portion downstream from the first aforesaid sloped surface portion, the second sloped surface portion having a second sloped angle relative to the second upwardly facing surface portion in a circumferential direction about the axis, the second slope angle being sufficiently small to prevent the wind from separating from the second sloped surface portion.
22. The disc drive of claim 20 , wherein the sloped angle is from about ten degrees to about thirty degrees.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
June 21, 2002
December 12, 2006
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